


Boredom

by Nightalp



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Hospital, Hurt Tony Stark, Loki is a genius, Loki is awesome, Loki is bored, Loki joining the Avengers, Tony is a genius too, asgards prison isn't Loki-secure, but don't worry it's nothing bad, or at least trying to
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-12
Updated: 2013-08-12
Packaged: 2017-12-23 06:44:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/923218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightalp/pseuds/Nightalp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two years after Lokis escape from his prison in Asgard - two years in which he did everything to take over the world - he finally succeeds in defeating the Avengers. But - no trace of a rejoicing dictator. What is he supposed to do now to distract himself from the boredom?<br/>At least there is a genius he can ask ...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Boredom

**Author's Note:**

> First attempt to write something in english that is longer than a review since writing essays for my english teacher (which was pulling her hair ...)  
> So if there is something to change, please tell me.
> 
> Also: hope you do enjoy.

Tony Stark opened his eyes and stared at the white ceiling above him.

He blinked. Nothing changed - there _was_ a white ceiling, as most buildings had. Most _earthly_ , that is.

Also not heaven ...?

Slowly he looked around - and, okay, pain in his neck, aching in his back, stabbing in his chest, and now he paid more attention to his body he noticed that he couldn’t move his legs ... - was that Loki?

He stared. Yes, it was Loki. Clothed in tight black jeans, a green shirt with a (crowned!) smiley on the chest. In his hand holding a steaming Starbucks-cup. Leaning against the window-frame, in his other hand a book which was obviously the center of his focus.

To say Tony was confused would be an understatement. The last thing he remembered was being attacked by the wannabe-god again - like he did so regularly since his escape from the aesir-prison he was thrown in after the Chitauri-incident. Only difference was that he defeated them this time.

Tony clearly remembered Steves and Clints motionless shapes on the floor. Remembered Natashas tormented whimpers - she put a knife through Lokis back, and he evidently didn’t like it. He remembered Bruce’ - no, _Hulks_ \- angry roar from inside the magical cage Loki had captured him in. And Thors desperate, helpless look in the face of all his little brother had done.

He remembered the burning buildings beneath him - the hole district was on fire ... oh fuck, he just hoped that Fury succeeded in evacuating all this people. That had been the biggest destruction Loki had done until now.

And also the one with the must success.

The attempt to swallow brought new memories - Lokis hands around his throat, after he shot him out of the sky with his magic and the following impact had demolished his armor enough for Loki to easily crack it open and pull Tony out. The slender pianist-fingers that squeezed his throat off without mercy until there were black spots before his eyes and he submitted to unconsciousness.

He must have made a sound because in the next second Loki raised his head an looked at him.

Tony didn’t like to admit it - and he would _never_ admit it to anyone except himself anyway - but in this one moment he froze under Lokis eyes like a deer when caught in the headlights of a car.

Even though nothing about his look was threateningly. Really, he could have been just one of Tonys friends, waiting for him to regain consciousness, who used the time to drink coffee (did Loki even drink coffee? What Thor told them about him seemed to indicate he was more the tea-kind-of-guy) and read a book. Fuck, he didn’t even seem worried - from his appearance he could have been a business associate of Tony waiting to be let in his office!

A slight smile tugged on Lokis lips and - surprise! - it even reached Lokis eyes. He really seemed relieved for Tony to be awake. “You are conscious.”, he stated, laid the book on the small table meant for visitors and put the cup next to it before he came to Tony with slow strides. “How are you feeling?”

Tony licked his suddenly dry lips. What exactly wanted the crazy god from him? On the other side - he wouldn’t be Tony Stark if he gave in to his nervousness. “Oh.” He swallowed, then cleared his throat when he found himself unfit to speak before he tried to continue: “How shall I ... _koff_ ... be? As if I was ... hurled through two buildings ... _koff koff_ ... and then someone squeezed off the air ... until I lost consciousness.”

Loki nodded. “You’ve got a broken thigh bone, three broken rips of which one moved the ARK-reactor - seemed to be a real problem to get this right again. Your physicians are obviously no technicians. They had to fly your chief-engineer in to explain to them where everything belonged. Ah .. where was I? Oh, yes, bruises over your hole body, a concussion and diverse contusions which are, I think, the cause of your speaking problems.” During his little speech he had stepped up to Tonys bed, opened the bottle standing on the bedside table and poured some water in the glass he now hold out to Tony.

Who was staring at it for a second before he decided to ignore every one of the little red lights in his brain and grasped for it. Lokis arm around his shoulders helped him to sit upright enough to drink without spluttering and then cool soothing moisture was flooding his dried up throat.

He sighed relieved when he gave the glass back. Loki carefully helped him to lay down again. “Better?”, he asked.

Tony nodded and stared at him. “Why am I in a hospital?”, he asked - because, hey, you don’t need to be a genius to figure that out with all the beeping machines and the flowers around him. “Why am I here, and why are you playing my nurse? I thought you would be out terrorizing the world or something like that.”

Loki rolled his eyes and dropped on the edge of his bed. “And why, praise tell, do you think I should do that?!”, he asked unbelievingly.

O-kay, in which parallel-universe was he right now? “Because it’s what you tried to do for the last two years, reindeer games?”, he suggested.

That only made Loki snort. “I only tried to get rid of my boredom.”, he corrected. “Your planet provides so little entertainment. At first I tried your meager attempts to pass the time, but that was all just a waste of time.” He looked at Tony as if he was personally to blame for that. “I attempted ikebana, and it’s fun, but then I didn’t know where to put the flowers. Then I tried yoga, and that was fun, too, but there are only so much hours one can sit on an mat with dislocated body parts. The most interesting thing about your culture proved to be your cooking, but I have nobody to cook for and so the servings always got to waste. And after I gave up on that there wasn’t much to do - at least without showing my face to someone who in turn would run to SHIELD.”

O fuck! Imagined Tony that or was Lokis lower lip really trembling?

“If it is so boring on earth, then why come here? As far as I know there are seven other realms for you to play with beside earth and Asgard where you could have gone to conceal yourself.”

Loki snorted. “And every single one of them has a better security than Midgard, so I would have been caught and brought back to Asgard a long time ago. No, thank you. I really never planned to live my life out in a goldfish glass with nothing to do. I began to bore around five minutes after they left me there.” He started to pace the room and yes, Tony could see it. Thor often explained that his brother was a thinker and they all had seen the prove of this in the fact that defeating him had become constantly more difficult even though their weapons became more advanced and they trained really hard. And if he really was as clever as Tony granted him - around as much a genius like Tony himself - than being caught with nothing to do must be hell for him.

On the other side he had no-one to blame for that than himself. With a shrug of his shoulders - with he instantly regretted due to the pain racing through his body - he said: “Then maybe you should have left earth alone. You wouldn’t have to play the goldfish then.”

If Loki took his goldfish-comment amiss than it wasn’t to see above the indignation he showed about the rest of his words. “As if I ever _wanted_ to rule this miserable realm!”, he snarled. “Thanos tortured me until I agreed to lead his army!” His eyes flashed but deep down there was real hurt and humiliation.

Tony returned his look unbelieving. “If that is as you say than why has Asgard sentenced you?”

A bitter laugh escaped Lokis throat. “Because Asgard expects his warriors to be above simple pain. Someone who breaks under torture is just to weak to be respected in the golden halls.” Another cutting snort. “Thor knows that. But he didn’t tell you, didn’t he? Because it’s not my real crime - not in the eyes of the infallible aesir. No, in their eyes my crime is THAT I EXIST AT ALL!” The last words were a scream and Tony wondered why no-one had come to look for them. Either Loki killed every nurse and doctor or, which Tony thought more probable, he used magic to grant them isolation.

And what he just said ... “Because you’re a frost giant?”, he guessed. Thor had mentioned something like that one time.

The noise coming from Lokis mouth was a mix of scorn and desperation. “Of course for that. Asgard and Jotunheim have been at each others throat for an eternity - not even the oldest annals of Asgard speak of the source for that conflict. I had to climb down in the deepest cellars of Alfheim to find an answer to that! Anyway, some thousand years ago Asgard dealt the jotnar a heavy blow and when they left Jotunheim they brought with them the biggest treasure of the frost giants - the casket of ancient winters. No-one knew that Odin also brought the son of king Laufey. He really must have gone off of the idea that the son of his enemy would be his weapon to destroy him and his people!”

Okay, Tony had to admit that really didn’t sound good. “A weapon?”, he asked.

Almost disinterested Loki explained: “The original plan was for me to ascend to the throne of Jotunheim and rule there as Odins puppet king. Which is absolutely nonsense of course and Odin would know that had he ever learned something about the political system of the frost giants. They are a democracy ... something like that, at least. A representative democracy you call it here on Midgard, I believe. Some states which are almost independent and mostly manage themselves but with someone standing above them who can make verdicts for all.” He seemed to notice Tonys look because he carried on: “Similar to the United States, but the president in Jotunheim is a king and he is chosen for a lifetime.” He looked thoughtful for a moment and than said: “Maybe more like the catholic church. The king of the jotnar is also their spiritual leader ... they have this complicated ritual every future king has to go through which makes him, as they say, able to communicate with the Void - the frost giants worship the Void as the begin and end of the universe.”

“Fuck, how do you know so much about ... all of that?” Tony made a gesture which was supposed to embrace everything Loki just said. But really - he was a human and he couldn’t have summarized it as good as Loki did, let alone compare it to an unearthly form of government!

Loki just shrugged off his shoulders. “I’m interested in such things.”, he simply said. “And it seemed useful - I was brought up as the son of a king and it seemed ingenious to know something about the other realms.”

“And when it was declared that Thor was destined to be king you got him out of your way and took the throne for yourself.” Or at least that was what Tony had been told by Thors aesir friends who came to visit sometimes - Thor himself never spoke about it.

Loki looked at him as if he had lost his senses. “Why, by Odins hairy balls, should I do that? I hate standing in the spotlight!” He shook his had as if he couldn’t believe this amount of unreasonableness. “I admit, I wasn’t enthusiastic about Odin declaring Thor his heir. He was an arrogant idiot and he urgently needed a blow to his head to come to his senses, but I never doubted his ability to be a great king. He has everything a future regent needs - charisma and a good heart, and a bright head on his shoulders if he ever deigns to use it.” He snorted. “And I have never - regardless what Sif and the warriors three claim - tried to steal my brothers crown. I couldn’t know Odin would succumb to the Odinsleep while Thor wasn’t available to assume his cloak - or that my own mother transmitted the duties of the throne to me. And _damn them all_ \- I gave my best! I saved Asgard from a new war with Jotunheim - and their new king is more of a politician then a warrior, so their should be less bloodshed in the future also!”

He growled angryly and pulled his drinking cup to himself, taking a gulp.

Something about the way he did this reminded Tony ... of Pepper, of Fury. Of someone who is having responsibilities and knew _exactly_ what that meant. And suddenly it made _Klick_ in his mind. “You’re a politician yourself.”, he said. “That’s what Mulan and the Olsen Gang always meant when they said you’re a speaker, no warrior.” He shook his head - why did he need that long to understand that? “When Thor ascends the throne - you don’t need the crown. You would have been his advisor - his chief advisor - the person who’s pulling the strips from the shadows.”

Loki was looking at him as if he was retarded. As if what he said was obviously. Which, okay, it was.

“Fuck!”, groaned Tony. “No wonder you were bored. Let me guess - in Asgard you were one of the wire puller behind every important decisions.”

That made Loki smile slightly in a very arrogant way.

“And here ...” The wheels in his head whizzed while he was thinking through everything he heard. “You’re here for a reason.”, he said slowly. “There are only two Avengers to which you could have come and while Natasha would have been the more suitable choice she’s also still angry about the thing with Clint. So you came to me.”

“Bravo, Stark.”, murmured Loki while looking at the display of his mobile phone - Samsung! - and then said approvingly: “You only needed the better part of half an hour to find that out.” Then he looked back at Tony. “And? What do I want from you?”

“Okay, provided that I don’t err - and Tony Stark is never wrong! - I would say: You want to join the Avengers. Not as a warrior - at least not only - but as one of the men in the shadow who pull the political wires so that money is pouring and people are where they are needed ... _damn_ , you would probably even do assassinations. Am I right?”

Loki was grinning. “Amazing. And that directly after a collision with a god. I really am impressed.” Then, just for an instant, there was something like uncertainty on his face before he asked with admirable self-control: “And? What do you think about my chances to be admitted?”

Thoughtfully Tony looked at him, let his eyes wander along the - absolutely godly - shape until they stopped at the green eyes of the god. They weren’t honest and open - but then, honest and open was just another mask Loki often wore, mostly around Thor - but he couldn’t detect any outright lies.

He sighed - who was he kidding? He was no superspy, trained to read the age of a child from it’s fathers gesture.

“I have no idea, Rudolph.”, he said. “But ... do you remember, when you brought the Chitauri to New York? The bomb I let fly at their mothership?” _Don’t_ think about the dark cold void between the stars, Tony Stark!

Loki also seemed to fight off bad memories because his face was contorted as well when he answered: “The atom bomb. I remember.”

“Yes, exactly. As that smart-arse you are” And, okay, that _wasn’t_ supposed to make Loki smile! “You certainly know that there are some influential politicians behind SHIELD. Which are unfortunately even above Fury in the chain of command. And as much as I don’t like our _polite even-tempered_ director - opposite to the money-bags he at least never forgets that it is about humans.”

It was a relief to work with people who had enough brain to follow him. “The attack of New York was ordered by this ... politicians.”, deduced Loki. “And if it could be prevented that something like that ever happens again ...”

“You wouldn’t have to bring Fury flowers.”, agreed Tony.

Loki grinned.

And disappeared.

 

Tony prefered to not share Lokis visit with the others - he didn’t know what the god intended and he would rather not see his friends inhibited by vague hints of an alliance when it came to another encounter - so there was no explanation found for the fact that Loki let them live after his victory. Or why he didn’t try to take the world when he so clearly could.

Some weeks later Fury told them about the decision the council had come to after that disaster in New York - to appoint a representative which would in their name have the complete command of the atom weapons on board of the helicarrier - “Just another idiot with an tie who knows nothing of battles.”, as Clint paraphrased it.

And because Tony didn’t say anything he was the only one whose jaw wasn’t dropping when from the quinjet, which was to bring the representative to them, a very female Loki emerged.

She looked at the assembled Avengers, then turned to Fury and said: “I would have brought you flowers and chocolates, but there was a little bird telling me you would rather have some atom missiles.”

The grin on her face would have made the Cheshire Cat proud.

 


End file.
